Are we still doing the sombrero thing?

First Lady Melania Trump announced from the White House that she and Russian President Vladimir Putin have maintained an “open channel of communication” concerning children impacted by the Russia-Ukraine war.

The firings have begun. We don’t know how many people are involved in the firings but we will likely hear from unions soon. All the Republicans wanted was a clean bill for seven weeks so they could plan the appropriation bills. It goes much further then subsidies for Obamacare, which is failing by the way. […] The post The Firings Have Begun Over Schumer’s Shutdown appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

As mayors and governors in Seattle, Portland, Chicago and New York plan insurrections to keep their criminal aliens and all their illegal aliens protected, most Americans want them shipped back home. Democrats don’t even have a majority of Democrats demanding they remain. However, ideology always wins over what Americans want. A majority of Americans want […] The post Most Americans Want Illegals Sent Home, Especially Criminals appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Forty percent of American voters believe AI will make achieving the American Dream even harder to reach. That is more than double the 16% of voters who see AI as helpful. And this isn’t abstract technophobia. This is a window into the profound anxiety many feel about economic security in an era when the traditional pathways to prosperity already seem increasingly out of reach. A recent Rainey Center national poll of 2,011 likely voters reveals a pervasive pessimism about artificial intelligence (AI), along with deeper concerns about a rigged system. When asked about the future, 39% of respondents said AI makes them more pessimistic, compared to 20% who said it makes them more optimistic. Remarkably, this fear is bipartisan. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents all worry that technological disruption will compound rather than solve the challenges facing American families. Yet, there’s reason for hope. One in five Americans sees AI’s potential to improve their economic prospects, and nearly a quarter believe it will make no difference to achieving the American Dream. These voters recognize what policymakers must internalize: AI could dramatically increase productivity, create new industries, improve healthcare outcomes, and free workers from dangerous or repetitive tasks. The technology itself, however, isn’t the enemy. The question is whether we’ll ensure its benefits are broadly shared rather than narrowly concentrated. History shows that technological revolutions can lift entire societies when paired with smart policy. The challenge is making that happen deliberately rather than hoping it occurs by accident. This AI anxiety doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It sits atop a foundation of economic stress and fading opportunity, particularly for younger generations. While 77% of the Silent Generation and 51% of Baby Boomers feel their lives are or were better than their parents’, only 31% of Millennials and 35% of Gen Z share this optimism. When we asked directly whether the American Dream has become more or less attainable over the past decade, an overwhelming 64% said less attainable, with one-third calling it “much less attainable.” Credit: Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy The fear isn’t that AI will create a different future — voters fear that AI will accelerate trends already making life harder. Young Americans today face a housing market disconnected from wage growth, with 21% of Gen Z citing housing as a top national challenge compared to just 6% of Boomers. They’re burdened by education debt that earlier generations never faced. And now they’re being told that automation and AI may disrupt the very jobs they’re counting on to build their economic security. The American Dream itself remains remarkably consistent: financial stability and homeownership top the list across all demographics. But the gap between aspiration and reality has never been wider. Only 22% of voters believe they’ve achieved the American Dream, while 36% feel it’s completely out of reach. Among Millennials, 40% believe the dream is unattainable for them. This crisis of faith in American opportunity has political consequences. While voters give Republicans a slight edge over Democrats (39% to 33%) on supporting the American Dream, a striking 28% believe neither party is aligned with this goal. When nearly one in three Americans see no champion for their economic aspirations, we face a dangerous void in our politics. The economy (34%) and inflation (29%) dominate voter concerns, bread-and-butter issues that AI anxiety amplifies rather than replaces. People aren’t worried about robot overlords; they’re worried about paying the mortgage, affording healthcare, and whether their children will have opportunities they did not. Technology has always disrupted labor markets, but past disruptions occurred when basic economic mobility still functioned for most Americans. Today, AI arrives at a moment when millions already doubt that the system works for them. That timing matters enormously. We need policies that will address both immediate economic pressures and longer-term technological change. Housing affordability, education access, and ensuring that economic growth translates into broadly shared prosperity aren’t separate from the AI question. They’re the foundation that determines whether technological change lifts us up or leaves us behind. The American Dream isn’t dead, but it’s under siege from multiple directions. The question is whether we’ll recognize the urgency before another generation loses faith entirely.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ * * * Sarah E. Hunt is President of the Joseph Rainey Center for Public Policy, a think tank and leadership community based in Washington, D.C. Amelia Powers Gardner is a Utah County Commissioner and National Chair of the Leadership Alliance for a More Perfect Union (LAMP), a national program cultivating the next generation of conservative leaders. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout!

President Donald Trump said Friday that his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping might be canceled following what he called “very hostile” trade actions by Beijing. In a lengthy Truth Social post, Trump said that China was sending letters to countries around the world, threatening to impose export controls on rare-earth minerals.  “Some very strange things are happening in China! They are becoming very hostile, and sending letters to Countries throughout the World, that they want to impose Export Controls on each and every element of production having to do with Rare Earths, and virtually anything else they can think of, even if it’s not manufactured in China,” Trump said.  Trump said he had been contacted by other countries that were “extremely angry” about the export restrictions China rolled out on Thursday. The president added that his meeting with Xi at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in South Korea later this month might not occur due to China’s actions.  Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout! “Things that were routine are no longer routine at all. I have not spoken to President Xi because there was no reason to do so. This was a real surprise, not only to me, but to all the Leaders of the Free World. I was to meet President Xi in two weeks, at APEC, in South Korea, but now there seems to be no reason to do so,” Trump said.  Trump called China’s move “surprising,” saying the two countries had maintained a “very good” relationship over the past six months. Last month, Trump thanked Xi for supporting a deal to make TikTok American-owned.  “I have always felt that they’ve been lying in wait, and now, as usual, I have been proven right! There is no way that China should be allowed to hold the World ‘captive,’ but that seems to have been their plan for quite some time,” Trump said.  Trump added in his post that he would take financial countermeasures if China continued to move forward with the export restrictions. He said that for every element China tried to monopolize, the United States would have two. He also noted that there may be additional tariffs imposed on Chinese goods.  “Ultimately, though potentially painful, it will be a very good thing, in the end, for the U.S.A. One of the Policies that we are calculating at this moment is a massive increase of Tariffs on Chinese products coming into the United States of America. There are many other countermeasures that are, likewise, under serious consideration,” Trump said.

Conservatives ripped former President Barack Obama after he issued a statement Thursday on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement that made no mention of President Donald Trump. Obama said that everyone should “be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight,” but the Democrat did not mention Trump or his administration in relation to pushing the first phase of the deal over the finish line. “After two years of unimaginable loss and suffering for Israeli families and the people of Gaza, we should all be encouraged and relieved that an end to the conflict is within sight; that those hostages still being held will be reunited with their families; and that vital aid can start reaching those inside Gaza whose lives have been shattered,” Obama wrote in a post on X. “More than that, though, it now falls on Israelis and Palestinians, with the support of the U.S. and the entire world community, to begin the hard task of rebuilding Gaza — and to commit to a process that, by recognizing the common humanity and basic rights of both peoples, can achieve a lasting peace.” Obama faced criticism on social media for omitting Trump’s name from his post. Donald Trump Jr. replied to the former president, writing, “I’ll finish it for you. ‘Thank you, Donald Trump.’” Get 40% off new DailyWire+ annual memberships with code FALL40 at checkout “He couldn’t even utter Trump’s name,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO). “Obama was the most divisive President in modern American history and even in a moment of great accomplishment and peace he couldn’t be a unifier. Sad.” “You were an awful president. And Donald J. Trump has not only cleaned up your mess, he has transformed the Middle East,” added Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro. The war started during the Biden administration when Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and brutally killed 1,200 people and took hundreds more hostage. After being sworn in for his second term in January, Trump began applying pressure on Israel and Hamas to end the conflict. He announced his 20-point peace plan alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week and then demanded that Hamas agree to the deal and end the fighting or face “all HELL.” The terror group said it would release the remaining hostages just days later. The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas officially began on Thursday after final approval from the Israeli government. The first phase of the deal pushes Israel and Hamas closer to an end to the war and requires Hamas to hand over the remaining hostages. In return, Israel is expected to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including terrorists. Israeli forces are also expected to withdraw from central Gaza during the ceasefire.